Will Iceland’s President go for sixth term?

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President 1996-

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President 1996- Photo: Árni Sæberg

Icelanders will have to wait till until January to find out whether or not the country’s President will be standing for re-election next year.

Speaking on Icelandic radio on Sunday, President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson announced his intention to declare one way or the other during his New Year’s speech to the nation on January 1.

Already longest serving president

Grímsson is already Iceland’s longest serving president and will be celebrating twenty years in the office in 2016. If he decides to stand for re-election, he will be trying for a sixth consecutive term as President of Iceland.

In the run-up to Iceland’s last presidential elections in 2012, Grímsson initially announced that he would not be running for a fifth term. He subsequently retracted that decision and won the elections with almost 53% of the vote.

He told listeners on Sunday that he received such entreaties from the public to stand again that he felt bound to do so.

He did, however, draw a distinction between the situation in Iceland back in 2012 and today.

Different political situation in 2016

Grímsson sees three factors of “uncertainty” back in 2012 which may have moved people to urge him to seek a fifth term.

In 2012, the Icesave affair was still topical and dividing the nation, controversial constitutional changes were being discussed, and Iceland’s application to join the European Union (EU) was still active.

Today, there are no major constitutional upheavals on the horizon, Iceland’s EU bid is very much on ice, and the Icesave affair is to all intents and purposes over.

Grímsson gave an enigmatic hint at the recent opening of Parliament (see link below) that he may not be standing again in 2016, but nothing will be certain until January 1 – and maybe not even after that...

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